Skip to Main Content

World History by Region: Africa

What's on This Page?

In the boxes on this page, you will find links and citations to information resources on the history of Africa.

For advice on finding books on your topic, see the 'How to Find Books' tab of the World History (generally) research guide.

World History by Region: Africa

Dictionary of African biography
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
- via Oxford Reference Online.
Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.

Encyclopedia of African colonial conflicts.
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2017.

Encyclopedia of African history
New York: Fitzroy Dearborn, 2005.
- Ref DT20 .E53 2005 v1-3

New encyclopedia of Africa
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Detroit, Mich.: Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008. v1-5

The Palgrave handbook of African colonial and postcolonial history.
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2018.

Reference guide to Africa: a bibliography of sources
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield, 2014.


Cambridge history of Africa
New York: Cambridge University Press , 1975-1986.
- Main Library and Ethnic & Gender Studies Ref DT20 .C28 v1-8
- v1. From the earliest times to 500 B.C.--v2. From c. 500 BC to AD 1050.--v3. From c. 1050 to c. 1600.--v4. From c. 1600 to c. 1790.--v5. From c. 1790 to c. 1870.--v6. From 1870 to 1905.--v7. Fron 1905 to 1940.--v8. From c. 1940 to c. 1975.

Historical atlas of Africa
Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985.
- Science & Engineering G2446.S1 H5 1985


See also the 'Historical dictionary of...' series to find titles such as Historical dictionary of Algeria (Ref DT283.7 .N39 2015), Historical dictionary of Eritrea (Ref DT2925 .R83 2001), and the Historical dictionary of Nigeria (Ref  DT515.15 .F35 2018). To find these, do an Advanced Search in UCSB Library Search for the Title 'Historical dictionary of' followed by the name of the country of interest to you.


The African studies companion: a guide to information sources
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Glais Bheinn: Hans Zell, 2003.
- Also in print at Main Library DT19.8 .Z45 2003

A dictionary of African politics
[online resource; UCSB IP addresses only]
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019.


Additional Reference Sources for World History by Region (Africa):

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the United States History research guide, under the "Reference Sources" → "Encyclopedias & Dictionaries" tab.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History (generally) research guide, under the "Reference Sources" → "Encyclopedias & Dictionaries" tab.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Period research guide, under the "Prehistory & Ancient" tab, the "Medieval History" tab, etc.

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Region research guide, under the "Africa" tab, the "Asia" tab, etc. 

Additional encyclopedias are listed on the World History by Topic research guide, under the "Commerce, Commodities & Material Culture" tab, the "Empires, Borderlands & their Legacies" tab, etc.

Primary sources provide immediate, firsthand testimony or direct evidence concerning an event or topic.

Examples of primary sources include letters and diaries; photographs, audio and motion picture recordings; transcribed speeches; books, newspapers and magazines published during the period under consideration; government documents and other publications; oral histories, autobiographies and memoirs; and even artifacts, like clothing, furniture, and other items of material culture from the period.


Links and citations to additional sources of information on the history of Africa might be found on the UCSB Library research guide for:
Login to LibApps